Green
by The Humbug
Summary: This is a Kigo pairing and a tale within my ‘Who’s Writing This Crap?’ storyline. Kasy Ann and Sheki Go Possible are the creations of NoDrogs and I dedicate this tale to Mag for her artwork of the same name. That image is to be found at  her DA page and i


Green

Author: The Humbug

Disclaimer: "Kim Possible" and all related characters within © The Walt Disney Company and its related entities. Kim Possible created by Mark McCorkle & Bob Schooley. All rights reserved. No profit is being collected from the fiction contained within. You can blame the rest of this on me.

Rating: PG-13 for intimations of a physical relationship and blatant, intimate contact between consenting adult females. This should also cover a little harsh language but I have no idea how it will address the issue of four naked women together in a bathtub. Any action or adventure found in this tale is entirely in your own imagination. If this will offend you, please read something else and then seek professional help.

Summary: This is a Kigo pairing and a tale within my 'Who's Writing This Crap?' storyline. Kasy Ann and Sheki Go Possible are the creations of NoDrogs and I dedicate this tale to Mag for her artwork of the same name. That image is to be found at her DA page and is the inspiration for this story.

Green

"WHEEEEEEEEE!"

The slender hand encased within its black glove gripped the handle of the grappling gun tighter as its owner reached the high point in the arch of her swing. This brought the petite form far above her monstrous opponent and well out of reach from its grasping claws. The huge robot cut loose with a din much like two steam locomotives being turned inside out and grabbed for Kim Possible with long, segmented arms.

"Kimberly Ann Possible! Get your scrawny butt down here RIGHT BY GOD NOW!"

With these words Shego spun and kicked the legs out from underneath four of the attacking thugs and they landed hard against the rough-hewn floor of the underground lair. The men were well trained and well armed and had originally outnumbered the independent Global Justice agents nearly seven to one… but none of them were as pissed as Shego was right then. Her fists flared with raging plasma and she gathered her hands together just long enough to condense one of those fields into a sphere; she lobbed it in the general direction of two other charging henchmen and its instability caused it to burst with the force of a concussion grenade and the men were propelled backwards from the blast. They remained on the stone floor where they had fallen, dazed and insensate. With all of the others unconscious and no other foes in her immediate reach, the green and black clad woman lifted her gaze again to a spot some thirty odd feet over her head.

"I mean it! NOW!"

"Aww… you never let me have any fun!" Kim twisted in midair so that her metallic nemesis failed to snag her with its steel talons. The hook on the other end of the grappling tether was anchored deeply into the iron hide of the automaton and its weight of approximately six tons made the traditional 'David and Goliath' comparison appropriate. For all their vast difference in size, Kim had managing to cause significant damage to the machine as well as focus its attention away from Shego.

Shego didn't feel any more relieved.

"Leave it alone and let's blow this Popsicle stand!"

Kim didn't answer. With an enormous grin on her face she pulled herself hand over hand, bringing herself ever closer along the stretched tether and on her next pass she brought her legs in sharply, ramming both feet onto the side of the robot's head. The caricature of a face felt no pain but the ocular lenses rattled within their housing as the robot's head rang like a massive bell. The robot staggered from the disruption she had caused to its visual sensors and she released the slack from the tether and centrifugal force pulled her back out of reach before it could react. She did all of this without much thought.

A well-seasoned pro while still in her teens, Kim Possible wasn't even into her mid-twenties yet and still showed no signs of losing her touch. This isn't to say that she was over-confident, especially since this little adventure was just one of the first since her official return to the heroic life. She had taken a voluntary leave of absence of just over one year from being the premier Independent Operative for Global Justice; her reasons were to recover from a severe injury while in the loving care of her family and friends.

But now she was back in the game… and it was driving Shego crazy.

Global Justice had first learned of this cadre of would-be terrorists and their 'automaton of doom' just a short time ago but it had taken hours to learn how serious the 'master plan' really was. Tracking them down to their secret lair had taken considerable time, also. While Team Possible hurriedly made baby-sitting arrangements for the twins and cadged a quick ride through the auspices of Wade Load, full details of the thugs' hidden lair were downloaded into both Kimmunicator and Shegophone alike. When the women had first inspected the secret underground lair Kim had wondered aloud how there could be so many secret underground lairs to be found in the mid-west.

"Cheaper property values, Pumpkin. It's prime real estate but some loser is always looking to flip something for below market value to make up for some other failed investment," Shego had opined as the henchmen had first circled to cover the intruders from all sides. "That's why the Doc and I always stuck around Colorado."

"I thought that was for the skiing." Kim grinned and cracked her gloved knuckles in anticipation.

"Oh, well, there was that, yeah…" The former villain nodded thoughtfully and the ladies went to work. That had been almost a full hour ago and now Shego was ready to go home. Her rambunctious wife had other plans.

"No more fudge for you! EVER! Seriously!" Shego's voice rose harshly in the dim chamber.

"Oh, like I ever get the chance to eat fudge!" Kim avoided yet another claw strike and continued to swing around, firmly anchored to the robot, in a seemingly random pattern. "With you in the house, fudge never survives for very long!"

The emerald glare of the former villain narrowed viscously but not so much that she didn't see some stealthy movement out of the corner of her eye; there was still one remaining henchman. Spinning around and charging straight at him, the hapless man never even had time to draw a bead on his attacker with his weapon. Closing the gap with a leap, she flipped and landed directly before him and her hands reached out; in less time than it took to say 'Jack Robinson' his gun was shredded and his masked helmet was cloven in two, the smoking halves dropping away from where a razor-sharp talon had sliced it clean through with the help of a little tightly focused plasma heat. With one hand still ignited and glowing with green death, Shego doused her other hand and grabbed the shocked man, yanking him closer.

"Why did I have to fall madly in love with the 'girl who could do anything'? WHY!?" She released an exasperated blast of breath and thrust her pointing finger at the gyrating form overhead; Kim just kept laughing and dodging deathblows from the massive, metallic, menacing monstrosity as she swung around the lair. "She never listens, she never admits defeat!" Shego shook the man like a rag doll.

"Uh… uh… uh…"

"Do you see what I have to put up with? Do you?!"

"Um…"

"No, I suppose you don't." Shego shook her head with disgust and extinguished the plasma field from her other hand, slapping her open palm against the man's forehead hard enough to ring his chimes and knock him out cold. "I can't believe that I used to hang with guys like you all the time..." Looking back down the vast central chamber, she noticed the gigantic machine swatting at her petite spouse as if the redhead were little more than an annoying fly. She promptly ignored the unconscious man and cupped her hands around her mouth, yelling up at her wife. "Kimmie, I said get down from there!"

No response was forthcoming.

"I mean it!"

"So not the drama!" Kim landed and came to a full stop on the metallic beast's chest; she moved quickly and withdrew the lipstick laser from her mission satchel with her free hand. There were already several deep lacerations in the machine's chest plate that she had sliced open with the crimson beam and Kim was about to add one more to the collection… when she noticed a massive steel claw poised above her, ready to strike. Shego noticed too and she actually became a little paler.

"KIM!!"

Lifting the non-skid soles of her footwear away from the robot, the petite redhead simply dropped and slid free from the chest of the machine to dangle at the end of the loose tether once more. Kim was nowhere near the spot when the claw struck down and sparks began to fly as the robot damaged its own internal workings from the mistimed attack.

Good one, Princess, thought Shego… but no way was she letting Kim distract her.

"If you don't get down here right now, I'll… I'll… I'll never let you watch 'American Starmaker' ever again!" Shego crossed her arms across her chest and stamped her foot. "Ever!"

"… gonna buy me… some bling bling…" Kim kicked away from a nearby wall in time for one of the robot's claws to impact against it, damaging the talons and rendering it useless as both a weapon and as an ersatz hand. Huge feet crashing down at the end of towering legs, the robot began to lurch around and Kim was again swinging at the end of her anchored tether, a grand smile flashing on her bright face.

"… listen'n to the naked mole rap…!"

"Damn it, Kim… I'M TELLING YOUR MOTHER!!"

"Oooh… Shego… I'm slipping!" Using her full momentum to swing high in the air above the floundering machine, Kim looked down to her wife with an uncharacteristic expression of panic. Shego caught her breath as Kim reached the peak of the arch and opened her hand… and deftly switched her grip on the grappling tether to her other hand with the greatest of ease.

"Never mind!"

"GHAA!" Green eyes blazed as hot as the fiercest plasma field. "That is IT!" She planted her feet firmly and with her plasma fields extinguished Shego held her head up and rammed her fists against her hips. "Kimberly Ann Possible… if you do not come down here RIGHT NOW… there will be no more 'Empress and the Slave Girl'!"

That got Kim's attention.

"Oh… nuts. Alright." Still swinging, her movements were less random now and her attention was fully upon her spouse. "If you're inclined to listen, I have a plan on how to bring this bruiser down!"

"Bullshit! The plan is that you get down from there and I blast him with a plasma sphere!"

"No good, baby, trust me..." Kim managed to avoid the robot's remaining claw. Even with as much internal damage as it must surely have by now, the lumbering hulk was still a menace. "I'm the distraction today… if not for me it would have crushed you long ago while you were busy with those henchmen!"

As if to prove her point, Kim gave one last yank on the tether and used the momentum to bring herself up and level with the broad shoulders of the robot, each contoured ledge as broad as a Cadillac. She grabbed the side of the machine's head and it immediately ceased to stagger about; true enough, now that Kim had ceased to occupy the robots attention, it was scanning the floor for Shego. Feeling suddenly exposed and uncomfortably vulnerable, Shego sprinted across the open space of the demolished lair and skidded to a halt behind a damaged bank of equipment to avoid being noticed. Unable to see her younger spouse, Shego was forced to call out to her from the impromptu hiding place.

"So your idea is what?"

"I keep it busy with a little more 'webslinging' and you blast its head off." Not bothering to wait for a reply, Kim jumped away from the machine. Kicking with both legs and arching her back, she started to whirl faster and faster in a flat arch around the head of the enormous robot. Shego watched as Kim built up more and more speed and, as the tether began to wrap around the sensor package of their mechanized foe, the taller woman had to admit that her bride had a decent plan.

"Pumpkin, did you stop to think that I just might hit you by mistake?" Shego re-ignited her plasma fields as Kim's tether began to loop around the robot's head.

"Nope!" The coils built up and the robot clawed blindly for his opponent and Kim slowly drew closer as the tether ran out, coming ever closer to the limit of the robot's deadly reach.

"Your faith in me is staggering!" The reformed villain took careful aim and prepared to fire.

"Yep!" Speed increasing with each revolution, Kim spun ever closer to the deadly machine. What she could not see was that the two arms of the robot had raised and both the damaged and undamaged claws were poised directly on either side of its own massive head. The arms flexed back and quivered as if they were arrows nocked in a crossbow.

"When would it be a good time for me to do this?" The plasma field grew stronger and Shego started to feel the pain from her own heat as the field began to lose stability. The woman noticed the raised claws but there would be no time or chance to do anything else about them.

"Right… about…" Kim gauged her speed and the closing distance and prepared to let go.

"You'd better be ready to fly, Pumpkin!"

"NOW!"

Several things happened at once. Shego released a plasma blast so powerful that her fingers went numb and Kim released her grip on the tether ONLY once she was certain that the blast was on its way. The robot, blinded yards of coiled tether around its head, brought its arms together in one final effort to crush the nuisance that had been pestering it once and for all. As a result, what systems weren't fried beyond recognition from the plasma strike were pulverized beyond salvage by the tremendous impact. With no sensors or electronic brain to interpret and process data, the metallic beast stopped moving of its own volition and sagged like a marionette whose strings had been cut; the robot collapsed where it had been standing and fell to the concrete slab below.

Shego crossed the distance to the base of a nearby wall and glared upwards.

"Why did you wait to let go!?"

"Well… I wanted to make sure you'd hit the target!" Kim had flown through the air and had grasped at the wall with all of her strength, desperate not to drop away. Her ears were still ringing from the explosion and the force of the blast at her back had driven the air from her lungs and left her a little dazed as she slowly climbed down to the floor of the lair. She looked up and grinned as Shego's scowl deepened.

"And you did! Great job!" Kim stretched her limbs to work out the aches in her strained muscles.

"You are in such trouble when we get home!"

"Yes, my Empress." Kim looked up at her coyly.

"Cut that out, I mean it!" Shego felt her anger withering beneath the emerald gaze, so much like her own. Why had she been cursed with loving a woman with as much stamina as she had, and who seemed to have more energy at the end of a mission than when it began? Even now, Kim was moving closer to her.

"My Empress is displeased…"

"Kimmie… Kim, you stay right where you are!"

"Allow this unworthy slave to give my Empress pleasure." She was almost purring.

"Oh, no! No! Don't you come near me with that look in your eyes!" The mighty Shego actually took a few steps back.

"Let me show my Empress how we pleasure ourselves down in the slave quarters…"

"Ghaa!" Shego bolted and Kim was close on her heels. It took the redhead almost five minutes to catch her wife and it took almost another half hour before they vacated the lair.

88888888

"Princess, you're being awful quiet back there. Are you Ok?"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Not sore, are you?"

"Oh, not any more. I didn't hit the wall all that hard."

"No, doofus…" Shego giggled. "I meant from afterwards!"

"Well, I wouldn't be so tired if you hadn't made me catch you first!"

"If it makes you feel any better, you gave me such a going-over that I wish my seat had a little more padding!"

The hover sled was one of the smaller models, with barely enough seating for two and very little room for additional supplies. Its greatest value was in being available at a moments notice and Team Possible had been given carte blanche access to it by Global Justice. Shego was by far the more accomplished flier of the two and was in the front seat with Kim belted in behind her. The flight out had been long and they were not quite halfway home.

"So what are you doing?"

"Well… I've used the Kimmunicator to draft a report of our mission. I'll hand it over to you later for your review and input before we forward it on to 'GJ'. I went ahead and let 'GJ' know that they can send in the 'Cleaners' and I also called Monique and let her know how late we'd be getting home."

"Oh. Ok. I thought I'd heard you talking to someone and I knew that it wasn't me." Shego smirked. "How are the girls? Did they run Auntie Monique ragged?"

"No, she says that they were as good as gold."

"Hm… we'd better make sure that our fire insurance is up to date." Silence, without a direct response to either attempt at humor. "Pumpkin, are you sure you're Ok?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You really are being vewy, vewy qwiet back there."

"You're flying."

"So?"

"You don't like to talk when you're flying."

"What? Kimmie, I'll talk to you!"

"I don't want to bother you." You could have hung a coat on the heavy sigh that followed.

Oh, for the love of… Shego never could predict when the mood pendulum would swing back in the other direction. It was a fact only known to Shego and a young man named Ron Stoppable that the famous 'girl who could do anything' tended to crash hard after the adrenaline wore off.

"Kim, I could do this with my eyes closed. What time will it be when we get back?"

"Late. Almost Midnight."

"Too late for much of anything, huh?" Neither woman was much of a night owl since the birth of the twins; each was more than happy to schedule their waking hours around those of their daughters Kasy Ann and Sheki Go Possible. "How about a long soak in the tub before bed? You know that it takes me forever to relax enough for sleep after a few hours of flying, so does that sound Ok to you?"

"Spank'n!" Kim's pleasure was palpable, making the older woman smile in relief.

"So just sit back and listen to some music 'til we get home."

"No thanks." Kim always hated feeling useless. It made her feel like baggage.

"Kim, I know for a fact that you've got some tunes stored on that thing! Make yourself comfortable."

"But you can't be comfortable."

"But YOU can! Don't deprive yourself just because I'm occupied!"

"But…"

"Your Empress commands it!" Shego was not able to turn around in her seat but she heard movement from the back and felt a brief stroke, a mere tug, against her long hair as her Princess reached forward and brushed it gently with the palm of her hand. Kim was silent for the rest of the flight and Shego increased their speed a little to shorten the ride home.

88888888

There was only one downstairs light on at the Possible residence when the hover sled settled onto the grass of the spacious backyard. Careful not to crush any toys or Kasy's tricycle, Shego landed the vehicle and let the steady hum deteriorate into a faint whine as internal dynamos slowed to a halt. She popped the canopy and waited for Kim to clamber over the rim of the hover sled before raising herself from the cramped seat and following her wife down. She actually stumbled in the last rung of the tiny ladder.

"Shego, are you alright?" Caught off guard by this uncharacteristic display of imbalance, Kim's green eyes held no small amount of concern. The older woman frowned and ran her fingers through her mass of black hair, scratching at her head before answering.

"Pumpkin, I'm just dead on my feet, is all." In the meager light from the new Moon, Shego's greenish white face almost seemed to glow. Its light caught her eye and she turned to smirk at the younger woman. "That reminds me, did Wade finally manage to alter those files?"

Kim's initial reply was a scowl.

"Yes… after he released a special 'worm' through the Intranet. Every digitally recorded image of the north rim of the Plato crater taken after that day will appear to be normal." Her expression softened. "Anything else will look like a badly faked photograph."

"So it's our little secret." Shego giggled.

"You are such a romantic goober."

"But I'm your goober!" She leaned against Kim and the hero pretended to ward her off.

"Are you sure that you really want to get in the tub so late?" The black and olive drab color scheme of Kim's mission clothes made her all but invisible in the dark but her hair shone like copper in the moonlight.

"My body is exhausted but my brain is still working overtime and my reactions are still in flight mode. Trust me, a hot bath with a hot woman are just what the doctor ordered." Nonetheless the former villain let her spouse give her a little guidance and support when they walked to the rear deck and the screen door. The glass displayed an equal part of both dining room and kitchen and the single lamp was suspended over the broad countertop that usually served as breakfast table for the Possible family… and occasionally a recreation spot for the adults. Right now it was being used for something much more mundane. Kim walked across the wooden deck and raised her small hand to rap on the stile.

"Wait, Kim, you'll freak her out!"

"I called ahead, remember? And she had to have heard something when we landed."

"Maybe, but do you remember how she jumped when we came home late that other time?"

"Yes, but that was because you held your glowing hand under your face and grinned through the window like an evil spectre!" Kim completed her action and knocked. "That would freak anyone out!"

"Oh, yeah. Heh…" Shego grinned and Kim frowned at her but the figure seated at the kitchen counter simply raised her head and stood; the dark skinned woman calmly walked to the patio door and admitted them entry.

Monique smiled as Kim walked through the doorway and gave her a hug.

"Hey, Sista Girl!"

"Hey, White She-Devil!"

"Monique…" Shego stayed in the background and only entered after the younger women moved apart.

"Hey, Green She-Devil!"

It was Shego's turn to frown as Kim and her friend giggled at the former thief's expense and bounced around like they were still in high school. Pretending to be disgusted, the tall woman strode past them and headed for the kitchen; she opened the refrigerator and grabbed two apples while her wife joked and talked with Monique back in the living room. Their conversation became clearer when they, too, entered the kitchen.

"… didn't give them a bath, so they fussed a little."

"That's Ok." Kim nodded. "At their age we don't bathe them every night because it would make their skin too dry."

"So after that we colored a little and we danced to some of their children's music. That tired them out a bit. Then we watched a little TV. Not too much, but I think that the 'Mr. Sit Down' song has been permanently engraved in my brain!" The young black woman smiled. Shego flinched a little as she finished her first apple and Kim rolled her eyes; only Kim knew why Shego hated to watch Mr. Sit Down.

"So they went down Ok for you?"

"Ain't no thang, baby girl." Monique made a show of inspecting her manicured nails and buffing them across her collar. "Auntie Monique had eva'thang nailed down. Two nursery rhymes and they were out like a light." She cocked her hip and struck a pose of supreme confidence. The same age as Kim and just a little taller with a fuller figure, Monique had chocolate brown skin and rich ebony hair that glowed with life. She and Kim had been friends for years despite the difference in color and the fact that while Kim's decision to take an after-school job had been by choice, any hopes for extra money made it a necessity for Monique. A common ground was reached when Kim was hired to work for Monique in a subordinate position at their favorite clothing store.

Now that all three women were in the kitchen, Kim's eyes lit upon the paperwork resting on the counter next to a glass of iced tea and one remaining peanut butter cracker.

"Ooo… is that the Manager's Exam for Club Banana?" Kim's eyes lit up. "You finally asked to take it?"

"Yeah, and it's finished. I turn it in tomorrow." Monique grinned nervously. "And hope for the best." Kim wasted no time in closing the gap between them and placing her hands on her friend's shoulders. Shego watched hem closely but remained silent as she finished her second apple.

"You will absolutely perfect as manager! You can't possibly fail!"

"Maybe, but can I borrow your 'anything's possible for a Possible' motto when I hand it over to my boss?"

"Better still, I nominate you for membership in the Possible family! All in favor say 'aye'."

"Aye!" Monique smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Aye!" Kim winked at her and waited… and then waited some more. Finally she looked around her friend at the lounging figure of her wife where Shego leaned against the counter in apparent boredom.

"Shego?"

"Oh, for crying out loud…"

"Shego!" Kim stared hard from beneath lowered eyelids.

"You are such a goofball, Princess." The older woman looked at Monique meaningfully. "They're all goofballs. You don't want to be a member of this family."

"Shego… your Empress commands it." Kim's stare softened as her spouse blushed a deep, bruised color.

"Ok! Ok! Aye!" Shego moved to the sink and wiped apple juice from her gloves before stomping past them and off into another part of the downstairs. Kim looked back to her friend.

"Let me get my purse and I'll give you a ride home."

"Uh, Kim… about that." Monique turned away to collect her paperwork. "I'm not going straight home yet."

"Oh. So where would you like me to take you?"

"No where. I um…" The dark girl started to look flustered and she kept nervously brushing away strands of hair that did not exist. "I already have a ride coming to pick me up."

Kim smelled a sitch. She crossed her arms and tilted her head in inquiry.

"Really…?"

"Mm, yeah." The young woman avoided making eye contact, pretending instead to be absorbed in inspecting her purse.

"Anyone I know?"

"Well…"

An electronic chirping filled the air and Kim whipped out her Kimmunicator faster than you could say 'Pavlov'.

"You're up late, Wade. What's the si…"

"Sorry, Kim. That's mine." Brow furrowed and with an embarrassed grin, Monique withdrew a small device of her own. It was deep red with silver accents. "He, uh, dubbed it the 'Monigraph'." She thumbed the activation switch and spoke into the small machine as Kim looked on in thinly veiled shock.

"Hey, Wade."

"Mr. Big to Foxy Mama… come in Foxy Mama!" It helped a little that Wade Load's voice had deepened substantially now that he was a little older. That and a growth spurt in the last two years had made the five-year age difference between the young genius and Monique a little less obvious.

"You there, Foxy Mama?"

Kim had turned a bright crimson as a direct side effect of her amusement and embarrassment for her friend and from the general lack of oxygen as she clamped her hands over mouth in a desperate attempt not to laugh. Monique just let her head drop and she raised the device to her mouth and replied.

"Foxy… Mama here." She sighed.

"Has Operation Pixie Wrangler ended?"

"Yeah."

"Great! Then Operation Late Night At The Movies can commence! I'll have a ride out in front of their house in three minutes."

"Great." A dull thumping behind her alerted Monique to Kim having fallen to her knees in the living room and had taken a throw pillow from the couch and jamming it over her own face. Just at the edge of the shadows stood Shego, apparently having just returned from wherever it was that she had stomped off to. She glared at the two in bafflement as Kim tentatively pealed the pillow away from her face and Monique returned her communications device to her purse.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Uh…"

"… heh… not really… heh." Kim coughed out the words.

"Ok." Comfortable to just let the mystery remain so, Shego reached down and assisted Kim to her feet, pressing a wad of something into the petite redhead's hand in the process. The wad crinkled.

"Thanks, baby… heh…" Kim wiped at her eyes and slowed her breathing, her expression having switched from humor to joy. "I think it's great if you two are seeing each other. Have a great time and thanks for taking good care of our little angels today." Kim handed the wad over to Monique. "Here."

"What…?" Monique saw the numerals on the bills in her hand and her dark eyes sprang wide open. "Hey, Kim, no. I can't take this."

"Why not?"

"Because it's far too much, that's why not! We're friends, and friends…"

"… still pay their friends for services rendered. A licensed and bonded professional would cost a fortune, and there wasn't any time to get them over to the 'GJ' daycare this morning."

"'GJ' has a daycare now?"

"Sure do. Anyway, with Ron out of town this week…"

"He's getting hisself some Bon-Bon! Monkey-style!"

"Shego, we don't know that!" Kim turned to stare at her spouse, the taller woman doing a little bump and grind to the amusement of their friend and babysitter. "Anyway, there's no one that we'd rather have looking after the girls than their Auntie Monique, so this has been earned and is well-deserved." Kim waved her hand in the general direction of the cash. "So please take it."

"Kim, this would choke a mule!"

"So? Club Banana's exclusive label can't be that much cheaper with a manager's salary or discount. Buy something nice… or several things."

"But Kim!"

"If you don't take the money, I'll have to resort to force." Kim raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Monique narrowed her gaze and was about to ask what that meant when she felt a strong hand lower onto her shoulder and give a firm squeeze.

"Youse want I should break her legs, Boss?" The threat might have held more menace if the former villain had not winked at her or the grip on her shoulder suddenly become a deep massage to her collar bone.

"That depends on her." Kim's emerald eyes sparkled and her grin was maniacal.

"Kim…"

"Please." Monique promptly forgot what she had been about to say and looked at Kim in shock; the 'please' had come from Shego. They shared a thoughtful look before the dark beauty sighed and shrugged.

"Oh… alright! Besides, my ride is probably waiting out there for me by now." She smiled and calmly placed the money in her purse. "Thanks, guys. I really mean it." Her hosts escorted her to the front door; sure enough, there was a non-descript vehicle idling at the curb just one lot up the street.

"See you later?"

"Count on it!" Kim gave her quick peck on the cheek. Even Shego moved in to lightly stroke their guest's arm with a gloved hand.

"Anytime." Shego released Monique's arm and stepped back to resume her hovering.

"And good luck on the manager's exam!"

Monique thanked them and made her way towards the waiting car under the vigilant watch of Team Possible. Only when they were certain that everything was copasetic and the car drove off did Kim close the door and drag her yawning wife towards the steps. Shego made her stop just long enough to turn off the kitchen light.

"Wasn't that Mrs. Load's car?"

"Yep."

"Going to fill me in on the details?"

"Nope."

"Whatever. I get to use the bathroom first, then." Together they half carried, half dragged each other upstairs... but only after Shego ate Monique's remaining peanut butter cracker.

88888888

They were as silent as church mice. They remained as still as stone and moved not a muscle; to do so would have made them too conspicuous and they couldn't have that happen, at least not yet.

Their time would come.

88888888

Kim risked a quick peek in at the girls and had to restrain Shego from going in. Both wanted to see, to touch, to hold their darling children but the girls would NEVER want to go back to sleep if they knew that Mommy and Momma were home. Shego stumbled off to the master bedroom while Kim started the water in the bathtub. Having already disrobed, she sat nude on the edge of the tub and lost herself in thought as the steaming water filled the basin.

The porcelain bathtub was not overly large, big enough for two to shower in intimacy or cuddle together with scant room to spare, but what held Kim's eye this night was its color. As with many features of their modest home, the tub was green, a bright shade of lime to be precise, as was the soap dish mounted on the tile wall. The predominance of green throughout the house was Shego's doing and Kim didn't mind in the least. Green was the color with which her wife most closely associated herself and was also the one color, usually with black as a balance, that she was most comfortable with if not actually her favorite. Other than being able to select a perfectly coordinating outfit at Club Banana, Kim was happy to leave the interior decoration to someone else.

A light rap on the door from outside in the hall brought Kim out of her woolgathering. She turned off the water and stood.

"Come on in."

"You decent?" The door opened slightly and Shego peeked inside. Her shoulders and arms were bare.

"Is that want you want?" As innocently as she could, Kim leaned against the sink and struck a provocative pose.

"Oooo…" The tall woman opened the door wider and stepped inside, having eyes only for the petite redhead as Kim twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "Shit. I wish I wasn't so tired right now." Shego had also shed her uniform and stood before her slender wife as naked as the day she was born; Kim freely admitted to herself that it made her heart beat considerably faster. She tested the clear water with her small hand.

"Bubble bath or not?"

"Not. I want to see you." Even in her exhausted state the woman radiated lust; Kim could feel it from several feet away.

"Want to do something in the morning before we take little Abbott and Costello to the park?"

"Eh." Shego shrugged and moved closer. "Not sure yet. Let me sleep on you."

"'It', baby. Let me sleep on 'it'. Like that song by Meatloaf."

"No. You." She was towering over Kim now. "Let me sleep on you."

"If you do that, I won't be able to… mmmmmm…" There were no words to match their actions as the pale green woman reached out and encircled Kim's lithe form within her strong arms, pulling their bodies together in less time than it takes to draw breath. Shego leant down and claimed the redhead's mouth, her mate relinquishing it freely but only long enough to reclaim the territory and stake a claim of her own across silken, black lips. Their chests pressed tight against each other, hard ribs and muscle sorely testing the soft tissues beneath. Shego could feel a heartbeat not her own hammering a staccato rhythm into her bosom, while Kim marked time to the resonant pounding of the other's heart against her sternum.

Shego didn't realize that she was seated on the knitted toilet seat cover until she felt the cool touch of the water tank on her back and the hot pressure of her wife in her lap. Kim's face was somewhere near her neck and hot breath burned a veil down her spine. Kim was facing her spouse and her trim thighs were wrapped around Shego's own and her voice was ragged.

"Wow. You really are tired."

"Mm… what? Why?"

"You normally take. When you're tired, you give." Shego cringed but Kim felt it and her small, firm hands were suddenly at pale green cheekbones. Nimble fingers lifted the strong chin and the older woman looked up into depthless eyes. "Hey, it's Ok. You never take more than I'm ready to give, Ok?"

"…ok…"

"And like you're always telling me, you don't have to be so strong all the time."

"But I'm the mighty Shego…" Kim felt the larger woman cling to her like a child and her protest was plaintive. "I have to be strong."

"No you don't." Kim gingerly lifted herself from atop her wife's lap and bent to guide the pale green woman up and over to the tub.

88888888

Together the silent pair crept through the upstairs hallway and past the bathroom. They paused briefly to listen to the incomprehensible sounds they heard from the gap at the bottom of the door but soon moved on towards the stairs and the treasure that they knew was hidden on the first floor.

88888888

"… so what you're saying is that I'm undermining my self-esteem by trying to hold myself up against a immeasurable standard?"

"mnht"

"Ok, well, then let's see who we know that I can compare myself with." Kim leaned against the warm green porcelain and thought. "There's Monique and Bonnie and Doc Betty and Vivian… not to mention you… all of whom have more up top than I have." Kim sighed. "I mean, why wouldn't I feel self-conscious?"

"llgh"

"Well, Monique never flaunted them specifically but I had to watch Bon-Bon bounce her way through cheerleading for five whole years."

"bmmh?"

"I… uh… didn't really watch her bouncing too closely…"

"nns"

"Anyway, Vivian has a great pair but no one ever took her seriously. On the other hand, Doc Betty could make even a flak jacket look sexy."

"mrn rror mnghr"

"Why do you always have to mention my mother?"

"mmrnm nnhlg tss"

"Well, yeah, she is my mother. It only stands to reason that I'd be built like her."

"uhnn"

"Are you kidding? She's beautiful."

"rmhn hllnr"

"Justine? Yes, I'm bigger than she is." Kim glanced down. "At least." She looked again. "Barely."

"sssl mnghr"

"She's no raving beauty but when she smiles her whole face lights up… yeah, you could say she's pretty when she lets herself relax." Kim rolled her eyes. "Ok, so you've made the point that being small…"

"llgh"

"Ok, sorry… that being 'delicate' doesn't make a woman less attractive. But give me one example of bigger NOT being better."

"ghnmh"

"Eww! Ok, great way to kill the moment! Sure, if you put it that way, DNAmy is packing more than you and I are, combined." Kim shuddered and this sent out a thousand tiny ripples across the surface of the bathwater. "I have to concede that she is the perfect example of bigger NOT being better."

"nghl"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Isn't it the French that say the perfect breast size is one that can fit in a wine glass?"

"mmhsmm"

"What?" Kim frowned. "I didn't get that, baby."

"What I said was…" Shego raised her face away from Kim's chest. "I don't give a tin shit what the French think because for me the perfect breast size is one that I can fit in my mouth." The former villain looked back down at the exquisite body resting beside her. "Oh, look. There's another one right next to this one." Shego inhaled and blew softly across sensitive skin and smiled at the involuntary reaction that occurred; Kim moaned and drew in a sharp breath of her own. "And it looks glad to see me. I think I'll talk to it for awhile." Shego lowered her head to Kim's chest once again and resumed her ministrations. Kim writhed and purred.

"… please and thank you…"

88888888

Having secured their prizes, the two stealthy thieves climbed the stairs and were prepared to return to their original starting point. It was late and they were tired but the light leaking out from underneath the bathroom door was not to be ignored. Creeping forward, one reached up to carefully turn the brass knob while the other pushed open the door. The hinges were well oiled and made no sound.

88888888

"The water's getting cold." Kim reclined against the green porcelain with her eyes closed. Her breathing was in synch with the pale green form lying beside her.

"Did you want to get out?" Shego's eyes were also closed and she could feel the call of sleep at the corners of her mind.

"Not yet… can you do that thing with your plasma?"

"As my Empress commands." The water glowed green for a few seconds and then the light subsided, steam rising from the surface once again.

"Mmmmmm… perfect." The reheated water sluiced through what little space could be found between their bodies, hot and soothing. Together they rested, weightless, careless…

"Tubbies?"

Two pairs of emerald eyes shot open and were greeted by two more matching pairs. All breathing ceased within the confines of the bathtub as little Kasy Ann and Sheki Go Possible smiled at their mothers in expectation. Sheki's long black hair flowed over her pink nightshirt and her twin's pink pajamas clashed with the unruly mop of Kasy's red hair. They looked from one parent to the other as they waited for an answer.

"Tubbies, Mommy?"

"Momma, tubbies?"

"Uh… Kimmie?"

"Hm?"

"I'm not having a dream, am I?"

"Nope."

"Major bustage?"

"Yep." Kim resigned herself and returned her daughters' smile, albeit with a shrewd cocking of her eyebrows. "What are you two doing up?"

"NUTTIN!!" Kasy had lung power the likes of which no one had ever heard before and she wasn't afraid to use it. She bounced up and down on her bare feet, a bundle of energy.

"Nothing, Mommy!" Sheki's confirmation was no less fervent for its lesser volume.

"It is very, very late and…" Kim felt movement. "Shego, they've already seen you."

"But I could hold my breath until…"

"Hi, Momma!"

"MOMMA!!"

"Nuts."

"I told you." Kim looked back to her girls and ignored the larger woman that was vainly attempting to hide behind her smaller body. "It's late and Auntie Monique tucked you in a long time ago."

"Not sleepy." Sheki answered and Kasy nodded in affirmation.

"Have you two been downstairs?"

"…"

"Come on, guys. You know you're not supposed to…"

"Kim, what's in their hands?" This would have been equally ignored had not Kim immediately noticed that, indeed, each three-year-old had her right hand drawn behind her back. As the young mother of two rambunctious and active children, Kim was used to having her daughters push the limits of their freedom and her patience but her girls were good girls and usually well-behaved.

"Ok, guys." Shego raised herself up a little. "What's in your…"

"Shego, wait." Kim was afraid that the wrong question might cause the children to lie reflexively. She did not respond to her wife's impatient stare but instead thought of another way to address the sitch. In her most motherly voice, she asked her question carefully. "Kasy, what does your sister have in her hand?"

"Huh? Kimmie, what's…"

"COOKIE!" Kasy's grin could not have been wider and Sheki didn't seem the least bit upset.

"What kind of cookie does she have?" Kim didn't expect a very detailed answer but after a few seconds of childlike deliberation Kasy answered that question as best she was able; the little redhead withdrew her own cookie out from behind her back.

"LIKE MINE!"

"Indoor voice, please." Her soft tone matched her expression.

"Yes, Mommy." Happy to be so helpful, Kasy moved closer to let her mother clearly see the oatmeal raisin cookie. Sheki removed her own cookie from hiding just long enough to confirm that yes, they were of the same type before tucking it back behind her nightie. Neither girl looked guilty or anxious and Kim had learned what she needed to know. She left her spouse's side and leaned over the edge of the tub, resting her chin on her arms and facing her children directly.

"Do you remember what we talked about? About staying in bed? About taking sweets without asking?" Their expressions changed and it was apparent that they finally realized they'd been equally busted. Without having to say another word, each little girl walked to the counter and reached up on tiptoes to set their cookies beside the sink. Shego had never seen children so young actually look contrite.

"Sorry, Mommy." Sheki only had eyes for her little green feet. Kasy seemed to feel much the same.

"Sorry."

"Ok, then. We're all good, right?" The twins wasted no time bouncing to the tub and jamming their little faces right up against Kim's own.

"A'ITE!"

"KAY!"

"Hey… how come whenever you caught me stealing something you hauled me off to jail?" Shego pouted. "This is so not fair!"

"Tubbies?" Sheki could barely see over the green porcelain rim, even when she pulled herself up with her little hands. Kim didn't see a way out but to acquiesce.

"Ok. Tubbies. Take your clothes off."

"YAY!"

"Kim, what are you doing?" Shego raised herself up completely into a sitting position.

"They're already up and you know they won't go to bed now unless we give them a bath. They love the water as much as you do."

"But… but…" The shock on the pale green face was uncharacteristic.

"Just for a few minutes and then we'll all go to bed, Ok?" Kim glanced at Shego and wondered why the other woman was covering her breasts and had drawn her legs up tight to her pelvis; she seemed almost embarrassed at her nudity.

"… oh, alright…"

"TUBBIES!" The twins wasted no time in removing their clothes… although Sheki had a little trouble tugging her nightie over her mass of hair. She wandered blindly in a circle until Kim reached out and gave her a hand. She was about to lift the little girl up and into the water when the girl stopped her with a frown.

"I do it!"

"Baby, let Mommy help you."

"I do it myself!"

"ME, TOO!"

"Alright!" Kim leaned away from the edge and held up her hands. "Have it your way!" As one, the children giggled and scrambled up to the top of the rim. Kim watched closely to be certain that no one slipped and fell but was proud to see that her fears were unfounded.

"Hey."

"Hm?" Kim looked to the other end of the tub where Shego had deposited herself.

"Good one with the questions, there." The pale green woman smirked and winked at her.

"I have my moments." Kim winked back. Shego looked away and focused on her daughters' attempts to scale the basin. They had been successful in reaching the summit but were now faced with lowering themselves into the water. The drop was a little farther than their comfort level allowed for and neither was as graceful now as they had been before. Shego kept one arm still covering her torso and extended the other towards the children; with one long finger, she poked Kasy in the butt.

"OW!"

"Look at this. This is ridiculous." She pinched the green flesh.

"MOMMA! OW!" The cry was from supreme annoyance, not from pain.

"What, pray tell, are you doing?" Kim's brow furrowed in bemusement.

"They look like little green dinner rolls." She prodded the chubby buttock again and Kasy yelped.

"MY BUTT!"

"You try it." She cocked her chin at Sheki who was in the same position as her sister. Kim couldn't help herself.

"Mommy! Ow!"

"Geez, you're right." Kim lifted her other arm and pinched both of Sheki's butt cheeks at the same time. "Though it's more like a pair of un-ripened tomatoes or something."

"Or two fat little Brussels sprouts."

"Ow! Stop, Mommy!"

"Momma!" Twin pairs of chubby legs kicked and slid against the smooth walls of the tub while two grown women amused themselves at the expense of their daughters. Kim was the first to tire of the entertainment.

"We'd better help them or they'll hang there all night."

"I suppose." Together and with no small amount of squirming from the girls, each child was pried away from the rim of the basin and gently lowered into the water. Kim and Shego received matching glares, as neither child seemed to want anything to do with the adults now that everyone was together; Kasy and Sheki remained in the center of the bathtub equidistant from either parent and massaged their prodded keisters.

"Oh, I suspect that you'll live." Shego spoke to them both. Kim noticed that the woman still seemed a little uncomfortable. "Who wants bubbles?"

"PEES AN ANK YOO!" The buttock torture was forgotten and joyous smiled reigned.

Shego was the closest to the bubble bath and she twisted around to snag it from the small shelf near her back. She waited until Kim had seated each child between them and had passed out washcloths before squirting a liberal portion of the liquid into the hitherto clear waters and then used her long arms and hands to swirl the substance into a hefty torrent of bubbles. The girls were now facing each other with one parent at their back, safely nestled in the crook of their mothers' crossed legs. It was true that the twins seemed to love being in the water as much as Shego did and Kasy immediately bean slapping her plump hands down on the foamy surface.

Kim was about to comment on a familiar pattern having re-asserted itself when Sheki began fussing and wiping at her eyes in distress. It seemed that Kasy's splashing had done some harm.

"Ow… Mommy! Soapy, Mommy! Ow!"

"Let me see, baby… " Kim gently pulled Sheki backwards to stare upside down at her pale green face. "Oh, yes, you've got a little soap in your eyes. Mommy'll fix that." She didn't even need to look as she reached up behind her and grabbed her washcloth that was still wet from before any soap had been added to the water; Kim tenderly cleaned away the offending soap and Sheki stopped fussing. "Is that better?"

"All better! Thank you, Mommy." Sheki waited until Kim leaned down and gave her an upside down kiss before straightening back up to resume her play in the bubbles. Kasy had never ceased to splash everyone with suds.

"Kasy Ann Possible, you stop that right now!" Shego almost reached to grab the child's hands. "You got soap in your sister's eyes." The adult probably would have physically restrained the little girl had she still not been preoccupied with keeping herself covered. Her words were heated, however, and the look on her face was hard. "This is a bathtub and not a swimming pool."

"Shego."

"We've told you a million times…"

"I'm sorry, Momma!" The tiny redhead seemed to wither and she stopped playing.

"Shego, she got the message. She said that she was sorry." Kim spoke calmly and looked pointedly at her mate. "Just enough, remember? Not too much."

"I…" Whatever Shego had been about to say vanished when she noticed the posture of the child on her lap; Kasy seemed very uncertain of what was going to happen next and her plump little arms were held tight to her sides. Shego sagged and closed her eyes for a moment before speaking. "Momma didn't mean to sound mad, sweetheart." She bent forward and rested her chin on the head of her daughter. "Momma just wants you to play nice and gentle in the tub." She tugged playfully at the child's perfect little green ears. "I didn't mean to talk nasty. Ok?" Kasy looked up at her.

"Kay, Momma!" The nod was earnest and without fear.

"Hey."

"Yes, Momma?" The little eyes were bright and clear.

"Can Momma please have some sugar?"

The child wasted no time in standing up and tottering around to give Shego a big smooch, giggling the whole time, which tends to make smooches rather messy. Shego's giggling didn't help. The older woman waited until her daughter had sat back down before flicking a wad of suds at her wife.

"Hey… thanks."

"For what?"

"Reining me in. I didn't mean to snap at her like that."

"I know that." Kim smiled.

"Really, I didn't."

"And I mean really, I know." Kim flicked a wad of suds back at her.

"You're so much better at this than I am."

"Shego, stop it. That's so not true."

"Well, you're certainly smoother at it." Something grew a little tighter within her, not unlike a clock spring. "Believe me, they can tell the difference."

"Girls!" Kim's voice was louder and both children reacted; Kasy looked up and Sheki looked back, both in silence and with equal expectation. Kim continued. "Who's the bestest Momma?"

Both pointed to Shego.

"Is she… pretty?"

"No, Mommy."

"Is she… beautiful?"

"No."

"NO!"

"Kim?"

"Well, then, what is she?" Kim's smirk was Shego-rific. The girls threw their hands in the air.

"Hawt!

"She's hawt, Mommy!

"HAWT!"

"Show her some love, why don't you?" As one, they stood and grappled with the pale green woman. Kim idly ignored the hugs at the other end of the tub and wrung out her washcloth; she waited until things were quiet before looking over and inspecting her family.

"Are you Ok? Your eyes look a little red."

"I must have gotten some soap in them." Shego clutched the plump forms tighter as she loosened back up inside.

88888888

Kim's earlier thought floated back up to the surface. She glanced down at their other daughter who had been singing tunelessly to herself the whole time.

"Hey, Possible." She grinned at the larger woman.

"What, Possible?" Shego's smile was self-conscious.

"Have you ever noticed that when all four of us are together we usually polarize exactly like we have right now?"

"Meaning?"

"You with Kasy and me with Sheki."

"Yeah." Strong arms gently smeared soapsuds on her child's back.

"So why is that, do you think?"

"Well…"

"So you have noticed?"

"Doy! Of course."

"I'll tell you my reason if you tell me yours."

"You first."

"No, you."

"You!"

"Oh… Ok." Kim blushed a faint rosy glow. "It's like I have my own little Shego."

"Well, gee whiz, Dickless Tracy! That…"

"Please watch what you say in front of them! Little pitchers have big ears!"

"Sorry!" Shego cringed but the children continued to scrub at themselves. "But, really, that didn't take any great detective work to figure out!"

"Is that your reason?"

"Pretty much. My own little Kimmie." She shook her head ruefully. "Calling Dr. Freud!" Shego inspected Kasy's attempts at washing herself. "Hey, Spanky, don't forget to wash your little hoohoo."

"Kay…"

"Hoohoo?"

"Sure, yeah."

"Hoohoo??"

"So? What's wrong with that?"

"The woman who remained on 'GJ's' most-wanted list for nine straight years says 'hoohoo'?"

"I don't feel like saying V-A-G-I-N-A in front of our daughters, Ok!" Her face blushed a bruised color. "My folks never talked about that sort of… thing when my brothers and I were kids, is all."

"But you'll say D-I-C-K-L-E-S-S in front of them, hm?" Kim savored the tweak.

"Hey, S-C-R-E-W you, sweetheart! It slipped out!" Rarely was Shego snared so easily.

"Interesting choice of words." Oh, she would relish this for days.

"You are one major pain in my M-O-T-E-R-F-U-…" Shego paused. "S-H-I-T, I spelled it wrong, didn't I?"

"Yes! I win!" Kim threw a handful of suds at her wife. "You think you're all that, Shego Possible, but you're not!"

"No fair, I'm tired!" Shego threw a handful of suds back, and also gave Kim a splash.

"Mommy an' Momma's fight'n again!"

"Yay!"

Kim and Shego moved quickly to quell the splashing chaos that erupted between them, calming the children down and getting them back under control. The word 'payback' never once crossed Shego's mind as she wiped soap out of Kasy's tearing eyes. If possible, they were even more covered with bubbles and the prospect of eventual rinsing and clean up looked hopeless. When all was quiet again, Shego decided to pout her way into a Phyrric victory.

"I'm sowry, Pwincess."

"Ok, Ok. I didn't mean to make such a big deal of it." Kim smirked and blew a mountain of bubbles from Sheki's head to get the child's attention. "How about you? Did you wash your hoohoo?"

"All clean!"

Kim looked across the tub and grinned mischievously; Shego scowled and scrubbed her ears. They washed in relative silence for a minute before Kim spoke again.

"That doesn't mean that we love one more than the other, right?"

"Who?"

"The girls."

"Huh?" Shego stopped bathing. "What are you talking about?"

"Me always holding Sheki and you holding Kasy."

"You're joking, right? Of course not!"

"It's just something we're used to, right?"

"Right. Sort of balancing the family so that it's not the red versus the black."

"So… trade?" They looked into each other's eyes and both shrugged.

"Sure, why not."

The twins kicked and squealed as they were each lifted and passed across to the opposite parent, neither noticing the change because there really wasn't any change worth noticing. Once reseated, Kasy and Sheki continued to play in the soapy water and the women smiled at their own foolishness while bathing resumed. Sheki started singing again and Shego, recognizing the words from one of the little songbooks the girls loved, joined in. Kim and Kasy played a simple counting game that started to get a little loud when they ran out of fingers.

"OW! MY PIGGIES!"

"Grrrrrrr!"

"Kimberly Ann Possible… what are your daughter's toes doing in your mouth??"

"MOMMY'S EATING MY FOOT!" The giggling made it seem unlikely that Kasy's foot was actually being eaten.

"Grrr!"

"I swear that this entire family is mad… mad, I say." Shego stared at the shenanigans and glanced down at the tiny raven-haired child sitting in front of her. "Don't they look silly?" Sheki's only answer was to lift her little foot out of the water, almost causing her to roll off her plump little backside, and pout wordlessly up at her Momma. Shego rolled her eyes and prayed that no one at the 'Villain Of The Year' award committee ever found out about this.

"… grr…"

"Momma! Ow! Piggies!"

"Grrrr!"

88888888

"No pool."

"What do you mean, 'no pool'?" Kim swiped at her nose to knock some bubbles away.

"Exactly what it sounded like." Shego's tone bade no argument. "No pool."

"I know what it sounded like, but I just mentioned the idea a few days ago for the first time." Kim didn't mind a debate but didn't care for being shot down so firmly without any real discussion. "And now you've made the decision for us that we're not going to get a pool?"

"Yep."

"Care to share with me why not?"

"Gladly." Long fingers counted off her points as she made them. "There's already a good public swimming pool in Middleton, I'd rather not tear up our backyard, they're expensive and besides… Bonnie and I discussed it and made our decision." Shego absorbed herself with her bathing as if to say 'and that's final'.

"Before I attempt to fathom what role Bonnie plays in this decision to get a pool may I please offer a few counterpoints?"

"Surely." The older woman didn't look particularly receptive.

"First, the Middleton public pool is fine but it gets a little rowdy for the girls. Second, I'm talking about a small, aboveground pool that's easy to install and maintain. Thirdly, we can easily afford one, and finally… please don't call me 'Shirley'." Kim leaned back against the edge of the green porcelain. "Now, tell me what Bonnie has to do with it." It was several seconds before Shego even acknowledged the question, let alone answered it. She seemed to be debating something with herself and choosing her words carefully. Finally she made eye contact and replied.

"Remember the little get-together you and I had with Ron over at the Rockwaller place when Bonnie was in town the last time with little Alexander?"

"M'yeah. So?"

"Do you remember Mrs. Rockwaller's pool?"

"Yeah."

"How about when you and Ron and Tara and Monique all played 'keep away' while the kids paddled around the steps?"

"Yes, I remember." This made no sense to Kim. "You and Bonnie didn't even get in the water. You were both sunbathing. So what's the sitch?"

"The sitch, my darling sweetheart, is that you and Stoppable were climbing all over each other!" The pale green woman waved her washcloth menacingly over the heads of the oblivious twins. "He kept grabbing your waist and hooking his fingers on the strings of your suit!"

"Huh?"

"He kept lifting you and throwing you across the water with his hand on your butt!"

"Ron's a friend! More like a brother to me than the Tweebs!" She scoffed. "We've roughhoused like that since we were kids!"

"And you!" She waved her arms at the walls as if there was nothing further to be said. "You kept pushing him under and perching on his shoulders with your legs wrapped around his head!"

"Oh, for Heaven's sake!"

"You pulled down his trunks and started playing keep away with THEM!"

"They came off when he dived!" Kim was gesturing as broadly as her spouse was. "I can't believe what I'm hearing!"

"Totally inappropriate behavior, if you ask me… fondling each other like that."

"NO ONE WAS FONDLING ANYONE!"

"Mommy's yell'n." Kasy swiped ineffectually at her neck.

"So not da' dwama." Sheki scrubbed nonchalantly at her elbow.

"Kim, please." Piety rarely found its way into Shego's mien but it was there now. "The children are very impressionable. Please watch what you say around them."

Kim's initial reply was a low growl. She'd passed the count of fifty before she spoke.

"But what does any of this have to do with Bonnie?"

"You were touching her man, no matter what you want to call it."

"Oh, for the love of… yeah, they've been dating for awhile, but isn't that a little too…"

"Kim, it's more that just dating. He's the father of her son!"

"They've never told us that."

"Do they have to?"

"Not really, but they'll make it official when they're ready to talk about it." Kim waved off the distraction and picked up the thread of their argument. "Forget about all that. You're telling me that neither you nor your brothers ever played like that when you went swimming?"

"No, our parents… didn't… anyway, another five minutes of that and I swear Bon-Bon was going to go postal." She shook her head in disgust. "She looked at me and I looked back at her and we agreed that private swimming pools were definitely OUT and that you'd both behave yourselves better in the Middleton public pool." She reached out and gently bobbed the heads of her offspring. "Momma says 'so there'. Right?"

"Mommy! Momma says 'so there'!" Sheki grinned.

"So there, Mommy!" Kasy nodded absently.

Kim crossed her arms hotly and huffed in exasperation; it was bad enough to be outnumbered by her wife and friend but to be betrayed by her own daughters was intolerable. She listened to the three members of her immediately family chatter to each other while an idea sparked in her brain.

"Ok, so no pool?" Her tone spoke of resignation and defeat.

"No pool." The day belonged to Shego; she was triumphant.

"How about a Jacuzzi?"

"Mmmm… maybe." Shego put on an unflappable air. She looked away in mock distain. "I'll have to think about it."

Kim nodded and leaned far back against the rim of the tub; careful not to disturb or touch her daughters, Kim slowly straightened her leg and stretched it across to the opposite end of the tub to where Shego was sitting… exactly to the spot where Shego was sitting. With a practiced touch and gentle motions Kim hit her target with the unerring accuracy of a heat-seeking missile. The woman who could do anything wriggled her toe slightly and the reaction was immediate; Shego's emerald eyes shot wide open and she froze.

"…nnng…ghaa…"

"Your Empress bids thee consider the finer points of owning a Jacuzzi."

"… such… ooooo… such as…?"

"When we're in it all alone, I'll wash your hoohoo." Kim grinned at how Shego perked right up.

"My… ah, geez…" The pale green woman shuddered. "My Empress doth make a good point."

88888888

The adults felt as if they'd each lost a few layers of skin and neither wanted to even think about how much their hands and feet must look like prunes. They were fully relaxed and totally ready for bed and the children were losing more steam with each passing minute. Kim threw her a look and Shego decided to pose the inevitable question.

"So, are we all ready to get out?" Oddly enough this produced a negative reaction from both children; they both turned to look up beseechingly at Shego.

"Latherinsobey, Momma!"

"Please!"

"PLEASE!"

"Shego, did they just say…"

"Please!

"PLEEEEEEASE!!"

"Ok, Ok!" The pale green woman laughed and held her hands up to ward off the pouts. "Just a little and then we're finished, Ok? It's really late and it'll take long enough for our hair to dry."

"Kay!"

"Kay, Momma."

"Baby? That sounded a lot like they said 'Lather, Rinse, Obey'." Kim tried and failed to catch her spouse's eye as the larger woman swiveled around in the tub and opened the lowest drawer beneath the sink. When she came back around she was holding a bottle that Kim had never hoped to see again; formed of molded plastic, it was a typical squeeze-bottle such as could be found in the homes of millions of families… but the similarities stopped just short of the maniacal blue face that sneered out from the label. Kim did a triple-take.

"Where..?! How…!?!"

"Kimmie, it's not what you think."

"What do you mean by putting that stuff on our babies???"

"Princess, calm down." Shego squirted a dollop of shampoo into her hands and reached out to gently massage an equal portion into the wet hair of her children; they each took over lathering responsibilities after a few moments. "It's just the bottle, not the brainwashing shampoo… or the cranium rinse, for that matter." She closed the cap and set the bottle down. "The Doc had to buy about ten thousand of these empty bottles to get a better price, so I just snagged a few from the lair."

"So it's really just…"

"Child-strength shampoo, yes. 'No more tears' and all that crap." The former villain rolled her eyes and laughed out loud. "Did you really think that I would use the real thing on them?"

"No, but…"

"They love the bottle, for the love of Mike! They think it's a clown in the picture." She eyed the face on the label. "They weren't far off." Her gaze came back up to meet that of her mate. "Geez, what an untrusting soul I've married!"

"I'm sorry, Ok?" Kim practically glowed crimson as she blushed. "Seeing that again just freaked me out, is all!" She reached up and tentatively helped Kasy rub the rich lather into her scalp. She smelled the foam and peered closely at her twin daughters. "You girls would love to have stewed cabbage for breakfast."

"Icky, Mommy!"

"Icky poo!"

"Blegh!"

"Yucky!"

"Eww, Pumpkin." Shego gave her a puzzled look. "What's all that about?"

"Nothing." Kim breathed a sigh of relief. "Just testing." She dug her slender fingers into her daughter's red hair and built a little Mohawk down the center of Kasy's head. The hero looked around the tub and frowned at the mounds of suds that needed to be rinsed away when she noticed a change in the water temperature.

"Shego, it's really late. You didn't need to do that."

"Do what, Pumpkin?" Shego tilted her head curiously as she molded Sheki's hair into spikes.

"Reheat the water. We need to be thinking of getting out."

"Yeah, 'cause I'm really starting to get sleepy, here." Black-glossed lips were smudged as Shego stifled a yawn with the back of her hand.

"So why bother reheating the water? It wasn't that cold."

"I didn't."

"Well, it feels warmer to me." Kim swirled the water around between her open fingers. Shego stared at her for a moment and then did the same. She furrowed her brow and nodded.

"Yeah, it does feel warmer. I swear that I didn't do it, though."

"Then what did?"

"Beats me."

They looked at each other… then they looked down at the twins. The twins looked back up, the very picture of innocence, but also thrust out their chubby arms to point accusingly at each other without hesitation.

"Ok." Kim stood up quickly and shook her hands free of as much liquid as possible. "We're done here."

"Well, Princess, you have to admit that the Doc and I never did THAT to you!" Shego stood just as quickly, looking as if she would have leapt from the tub had she not been covered in soapsuds as was the rest of her family. She flipped the drain release with her toe and the water began to sluice away. "This is just sick."

"Sick and wrong."

"Wrongsick. So what do we do now?" It didn't take a genius to realize what Shego was talking about; they were all thoroughly coated with foam. Kim already had an answer ready and she smirked wickedly.

"We hit the showers" The glint in her eyes was practically evil, as was that of her wife.

"I like the way you think, Kimmie." Shego left the drain open, turned the water back on and bent down to pull the routing valve for the showerhead. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Hold your ears!" Shego pulled the valve plug and warm water rained down from above to drench them all.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" The girls scampered to their feet in agitation and proceeded to run around in a tight circle between their laughing parents, both girls screeching at the top of their lungs and waving their arms wildly. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

"No respiratory problems, that's good to know."

"If they could just get over their fear of the shower, they'd be fine." Kim saw that all four of them were blessedly free of foam and fouled water alike. "Ok, a few more seconds and then shut it down."

"Yes, my Empress… Geez, the Doc was never this bossy." Shego just giggled at Kim's harsh glare. "Don't hit! Don't hit!"

88888888

Towel-dried and with a little lotion for tender skin, the twins were led down the hall to the master bedroom of the house. Kim stood them on the quilted bed while she redressed them in their night clothes and they clambered up onto the bed; the king-sized mattress was a considerably higher off of the floor than their own little beds but they refused all offers of assistance. Kim and Shego each took turns poking and prodding the girls' keisters again, both Kasy and Sheki howling indignantly all the while. They managed to scowl and look offended when they finally achieved the summit but cheered up as soon as Shego gave further attention to their thick heads of hair with a towel and brush.

"It'll still be a little damp, Princess"

"That's Ok. I'll lay another towel across their pillows." Kim sought out her own nightgown and draped it down over her petite form. Turning back towards the bed, she noticed how her mate was still in a state of undress but that the children were apparently oblivious to their Momma's nudity while the older woman finished preparing their daughters for bed.

"Shego, can I ask you a personal question?" Kim was glad to see that her wife didn't frown or look too wary.

"Sure, baby, always."

"When I let the girls join us in the tub, were you bugging a little?" Kim stood there and waited while Shego absorbed herself in tenderly caring for the little miracles sitting next to her. Long fingers lovingly brushed red and black hair with equal attention. Eventually Shego was ready to answer; she bit her lip but otherwise spoke with an even tone.

"At first, yes." She looked levelly at Kim and the redhead nodded in acceptance.

"Did it make you uncomfortable having the girls with us in the tub?"

"Yes, a little." Now she shifted her gaze away, her voice settling lower. "A lot."

"Then I'm sorry. I should have asked you first if it was Ok." Kim joined her family on the bed; Sheki rolled over and climbed into Kim's lap, drawing in her chubby legs and wrapping plump arms around her Mommy's body. Here eyes were getting heavier and both girls were yawning almost continuously. "I noticed that something was awkweird and I didn't stop to think."

"It's not them and it wasn't you. It's me." She set down the brush and hugged Kasy tight from behind. "I'm not so territorial that I can't share my private time with both you and them all at once."

"But I did sort of interrupt us when we were… you know."

"Baby, you know as well as I do that we're both waaaay too tired to have gotten too frisky tonight, but I want you to know that if there's anyone that could wake the dead, it's you." Shego smirked. "It's not that either, really. Our love life hasn't suffered since the girls were born and I'm never jealous of them wanting to be with us."

"Was it because we went from being intimate to family time so quickly?"

"No." She tapped the hairbrush against her knee. "My parents…"

"Shego, you know that you never have to tell me more than you want to." The slender redhead interjected only after Shego's pause stretched a bit too long. "I can love an enigma." This broke a little of the pall and the larger woman smiled.

"I bet you say that to all the girls." She took a deep breath. "For two people that decided to have so many children, my parents were the worst possible candidates for breeding. I mean, they treated the boys and I more like some weird scientific experiment… scold them and they do this, feed them and they do that, ignore them and see how long they…" The pause was longer this time and she seemed to slowly fold over the child before her; Kasy lovingly chewed on her Momma's fingers. "Anyway, they never showed us much personal affection and certainly NEVER bathed with us. Being nude with you in the tub is nothing new but with them in there…"

"I'm sorry."

"As you say, it's no big."

"No. I mean that I'm sorry that you grew up in those conditions." Sheki was almost asleep and Kim passed her across to Shego before speaking again. "And I am sorry that I didn't even think to ask you if you'd be Ok with it. There are still so many things about your past that I don't know… secrets that you haven't shared with me yet and never have to unless you want… but one thing that I felt sure of was that you didn't have a very nice childhood." She looked thoughtfully at her mate. "You don't have to say anything, but it shows often enough in how you treat our babies." Kim pointed at the pale green children reclining against Shego's bare legs. "You're so good to them and care for them so well that it's pretty clear to me how things must have been."

"For me?"

"Yeah."

"So transparent, am I?" The mock defiance softened her tone. "You think you know so much about me, huh?" Kim's first response to that was to strike a classic pose of triumph, hands on hips and chin up.

"Yep."

"Name three things that you 'know' about me that I've never told you." Longs fingers caressed two small drowsy forms.

"Nope. I'll name four." Kim took her own deep breath. "You carry some of my old maternity clothes around in the trunk of your car, you really do like Ron but for some reason you want to hide this from me, you're afraid to let me catch you staring at my mother and I'm afraid to ask why." She made her final play. "And you were very overweight until the accident with the meteor that gave you your powers."

"…"

In all of the years that they had been together, as foes and as lovers, Kim could not recall the last time that her mate had been struck speechless.

"…"

"I'm going to turn down the girls' beds." She stood.

"…"

"I'll be right back." She turned on her heel and left the room. Silence continued behind her.

There were still a few lights on in the hall upstairs and the bathroom still needed a little straightening but there was no reason to linger or to go back downstairs; the lower level had already been thoroughly secured for the night. Towels hung and water off, Kim made certain that the nightlight burned for her girls should that have to make a return trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The blue canary in the outlet by the light switch would always watch over them. Kim glanced at the countertop beside the sink as she left the bathroom and noted what she saw there… or rather did not see. Then, as she had promised to do, she walked across the hall to the girls' room and turned down their beds and fluffed their little pillows before walking back to her family.

The children we still sitting beside their Momma on the bed when Kim returned to the bedroom but a few details had changed. One was that Shego was no longer nude; another was that she had drifted off to sleep and was collapsed across the bed with her head on her pillow and Kasy's toes in her mouth. Kim stifled a giggle and whispered to her from the doorway.

"… shego…!"

"… momma's sleep'n, mommy…" Sheki pointed at the unusual spectacle and grinned. Kasy was equally quiet and sat still as the former villain drooled over her little green foot.

"… got my piggies…"

"…grrr… ZZZZZZZZZZ"

"… shego, wake up…"

"… grrr…" The older woman stirred this time and her eyelids opened. Slowing absorbing her situation the woman pulled the delicate foot from her mouth and wiped the drool from her face with her other hand, all while she lurched back up into a sitting position and scowled. "Ptuui."

Kim decided to go easy on her sleepy mate and pretend that it hadn't happened. She focused on Shego's present attire instead.

"You're not cold, are you?" Kim fluffed her own damp hair and walked right up to the edge of the bed.

"No." Shego had fetched her terrycloth robe from somewhere and it was belted around her waist. Other than that she was still seated cross-legged on the bed. "Not bad detective work. Not bad at all." Her expression was blank and her mass of black hair shifted when she tilted her head to the side. "Alright… how did you learn about the maternity clothes?"

"Looking for jumper cables. I swear that it was by accident. I didn't snoop."

"I believe you. Well, yes, I do carry some of your old maternity stuff. I keep them clean." Shego sounded almost defensive.

"I know. I saw that they were in a zip-lock bag. Why in the world would you want…?"

"Pumpkin, do you even have to ask?" She reached out with both hands and tenderly grasped Kim's narrow waist. Gently but inexorably Kim was dragged the few remaining inches closer until Shego's face was right against her abdomen, just below her navel. "They remind me of when you were pregnant with our little miracles and how I was reborn through my love for you."

"I bet you say that to all the girls." Kim shuddered as the warm breath passed through her flimsy nightgown. "I don't mind but why not just ask for them, or just tell me what you wanted to do?"

"Every way that I thought of asking just sounded too weird." Shego's eyes became hooded. "So, what's this about me liking the buffoon?"

"Well, um…" Kim blushed a little. "I snooped. I've suspected for a long time that you respect Ron in spite of yourself."

"Unca Ron?" Sheki roused herself and looked around the bedroom. Kasy also opened her eyes wider in expectation.

"Wittle Woofus?"

"Uncle Ron's at home in bed, pudd'n." Kim scratched thick, black tresses with one hand and worsened an unruly red mop with the other. "We'll see him and Rufus tomorrow."

"… yay…" Both girls were running on fumes.

"You said 'like' earlier, Princess, not respect. And I distinctly heard you say 'snooped'."

"I, uh… Do you remember that sitch a few months back where I was delayed in getting home? I reported in and you and Ron met back here to wait for me."

"M'hm."

"You were each at opposite ends of the dining room table eating when I walked it, busily ignoring each other and shooting mean looks across the flatware until I fixed a plate and joined you. Then you both loosened up."

"Yes." Emerald eyes looked suspicious.

"Let's just say that I'd arrived home a few minutes before I walked in the door."

"A few min…" Shego replayed that scene in her head. "Oh."

"I heard laughter from inside the house."

"Crap."

"Exactly." Kim sat down beside Shego and stroked a pale green knee. "I watched you two carrying on through the back patio door…"

"Kimmie… Kim, it only happened that one time!" Strong hands lifted to hide her face. Kim's expression never changed.

"… laughing and talking and joking like you were old friends. You were each sharing funny stories from the opposite sides of the same sitch and having a grand old time. When Ron got to the part where his pants fell down… again… and he tripped right onto the big red self-destruct button, you laughed so hard that whatever you were drinking shot out your nose. Admit it."

"Admit nothing, deny everything, make counter accusations!" Her voice was muffled through her hands.

"Shego, you admit right now that you like Ron Stoppable or so help me…"

"Ok!" Her hands flew apart and the ignition was so brief that her fists barely glowed before they were extinguished. "Alright! He's funny and friendly and I do like him. He loves the twins and he loves you and I think that he just might like ME in spite of HIMself… but I didn't want you to know that we'd been getting chummy because I will NEVER respect him as a man until he stands up for what he did to Bonnie."

"What he and Bonnie did together, you mean?"

"Whatever. Until then he's just a lovable buffoon." Albeit slightly irked by the matter of Stoppable, Shego was also fading fast and her ire soon died, quickly replaced by lethargy. "Let's please drop that subject for another time." She yawned loudly in punctuation and the girls did not react.

"Ok." Kim had to know about one thing. "So…"

"So?"

"So why do you keep sneaking peaks at Mom?"

"Kimmie, please don't make me answer that now." The larger woman sagged and her head drooped.

"Why not?" Kim felt a chill stealing over her that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. "Is there something that you don't want me to know about?"

"No." Shego would not look her in the eyes.

"Something that she doesn't want me to know about?"

"No."

"Something that neither of you want me to…"

"Geez, Kim. Take the hint, why don't you?" Careful not to disturb the sleeping girls, Shego straightened her legs and rolled backward onto the bed. She made certain to keep her robe closed tight as she reached out and pulled the children to her, their plump bodies leaning against her side. "There's nothing that you need to know about, Ok? Everything's just fine between me and your mom."

"Fine?"

"Yeah." Those eyes were closed now, the speech slurred.

"Nothing more than that? Just fine?"

"Yes. Fine."

"But you won't tell me?" Obsessive as ever, Kim was afraid to let this question wait; she was also afraid to learn the answer.

"Judas Priest, baby, there's nothing to tell." Shego huffed and let the warmth of her daughters flow through the fabric of her robe. "At least, nothing that won't make more sense when I'm awake."

"Shego…"

"I mean it Kim, not until tomorrow. Everything is Ok but if I try to answer that question now it'll sound wrong." Stretched out on the bed with her daughters against her belly and chest, her voice sounded almost plaintive. "Please?"

Kim relented.

"Ok. Sorry to harp at you." The petite redhead stood. "I'm going to brush my teeth and then I need to take Martin and Lewis to their room."

"… no…"

"Shego, they can't sleep with us. They'll be all over the bed and we'll never get any sleep."

"… no… please…?" Each word floated out on a breath. "…my babies…"

"You'll be sorry." Kim sighed and walked to their personal bathroom; it only had a shower so the girls rarely went in there except to use the toilet. Kim cleaned her teeth and when she returned to the bed she frowned and grumbled irritably.

"shego"

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ"

"shego… you're on top of the blankets… get up so I can…"

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ"

"zzzzzzzz"

"zzzzzzzz"

"nuts"

Kim shook her head ruefully and slowly lowered herself onto the top of the comforter. She curled right up to her daughters to plant one final kiss of the night on their smooth brows before she reached up and switched off the lamp. Kasy had her thumb in her mouth and was being held the tightest by her older parent, little Sheki having slipped lower in the grasp and resting a bit apart. Kim slid the little girl closer to her and she snuggled against the softness, felt the child turn towards her and press closer. Kim smelled the herbal scent of the child's damp hair.

"lather, rinse, obey my ass"

"pumpkin, what…?"

"sorry, baby" Kim traded whisper for whisper. "I thought you were down for the count"

"was" The bed moved slightly as weight was shifted. "had to ask one thing"

"shoot"

"how did you know I used to be fat?" The voice was too soft to discern much inflection or tone but if Shego had ever sounded less like her brash, over-confident self, Kim could not recall when. She pushed her self up and rested on her elbow.

"a little detective work"

"kimmie…"

"oh… ok… you work out as much as I do, some days more 'cause you weight train"

"so?"

"more than I do, really…"

"kim, that's not true"

"it is true, and you have more upper body strength than I do but that's not my point" A hushed breath so as not to wake the children. "my point is that you have a pretty strict regimen of exercise"

"thanks"

"but baby… you have one of the largest appetites I know… counting ron… and no way could your exercise regimen be the only thing keeping your weight down considering your caloric intake"

"…"

"I mean to say that you eat like an army"

"ok, I get it"

"you go through food like it's going out of style"

"ok, possible, yeah, I eat like a pig!"

"I didn't say that… I just know that eating habits are hard to change and even though your weight has fluxuated over time it's never risen more than a few pounds… that, and whenever you've been through a major sitch and the plasma's been flying you actually seem to lose body mass" Kim peered into the darkness and could just barely make out the silhouette of her wife's head against the faint glow from the window casement. "I suspected that it had to be related to whatever physiological changes your body went through because of the meteor's radiation" She carefully reached out and brushed her fingers across warm skin. "don't be angry… I'm just making an observation, baby, not trying to hurt you"

"not angry"

"yes you are… was I right?"

"yeah… a real porker all through grade and high school"

"how much did y…"

"no way, I'll die first"

"forget I asked…role playing club?"

"naw, audio visual" A sigh followed by a dry chuckle. "I was a tech-nerd like wade" Kim felt the back of a finger, the backs of several fingers, stroking her cheek.

"I always knew you were too smart for a sidekick" She let the fingers caress her face. "it might also explain a few other factors in our sordid history"

"like?"

"like the way you've always luxuriated in how you display your body, the tight uniform you've always worn, the revealing clothes… or no clothes…"

"hm, never thought about that"

"… not to mention the way you seemed especially keen to destroy a certain skinny cheerleader that shall remain nameless"

"kimmie, can we let that little piece of childhood misery fade into the hoary mists of time?" The hand moved lower and nestled between Kim's breasts. "that's not me any more… please?"

"I never planned to do otherwise" Kim quickly brought her hand up to her chest and held Shego's hand there before it could be withdrawn. "I really didn't mean to stir bad memories"

"s'ok… no big"

"unlike your butt, I'm sure" Kim nipped at the hand.

"ooo, you… that's it" The trapped hand grew a little warm but Kim refused to let it go. "just for that your empress commands you to prepare for her a ginormous breakfast in the morning" The hand managed to pull loose but stayed close to the hero's body, carefully avoiding the sleeping Sheki as it traveled along the lithe form. "bacon, eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, bacon, coffee, juice, bacon…"

"I think we're out of bacon" Kim was starting to yawn uncontrollably now.

"ok, then I'll just have bacon"

"how can you still be hungry? I noticed that you also snagged the girls' cookies"

"son of a … I swear that if they weren't here in bed with us right now I'd show you just how much I can eat"

"promises, promises"Both grew comfortable again and Kim was just on the verge of nodding off.

"kimmie, the thing with your mom…" The invisible hand drew away from Kim's stomach and Sheki remained asleep when her Mommy held her tighter in anticipation.

"yes?"

"if this ends up sounding weird, it's your own fault"

"ok" Kim would swear that her heart stopped beating.

"I've known you for almost ten years, Anne for less than half that… and you've grown so much in that time" The room was silent for a moment. "every day that goes by, every month and year, you look and act more like her, like your mother" More silence. "your level of maturity, emotionally, physically…"

"I see"

"no, you don't… I look at your mom and I believe that I'm seeing your future… what you're turning into… I'm not saying that I want you to be her because I love what's you, not her… I'm saying that… nuts, this sounds so damn moronic… if what I see in her is what I have to look forward to in our life together, keeping intact what is uniquely Kim Possible, I would consider myself the luckiest woman on earth"

"…"

"kimmie…?

"…"

"kim?

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ"

Shego didn't move until she was confident that Kim really was asleep and not just teasing her. The room was so dark and she didn't want to risk waking her family with even the weakest plasma field, so the former villain settled back a bit and gave her 'cuddle buddy' for the night a squeeze; Kasy continued to suck her thumb and dreamed. If Kim didn't remember the final part of the conversation, fine. If she did, well, then Shego could handle that sitch better when wide-awake. With the children safely tucked between their parents, that which 'knits the raveled sleeve of care' cradled them for the rest of the night; Team Possible remained pretty much in the same position through the next several hours, only moving when they were thoroughly rested and eventually awoke to great the new day.

And that is always the start of another story.

The End

Author's Notes: An old plot bunny, this was born of a great piece of Kigo artwork; you can see my Summary notes for details. I make references to other stories in my grand design so you might recognize those bits when you find them. Plot bunnies aside, there are many Kigo artists and I have my personal favorites; without setting any one of them above another I must say that the one artist who has given me my personal template for what Kim and Shego look like in MY stories is Mag (fortheloveofpizza). Again, do not misunderstand, I have several favorites but what SHE has drawn is the way I see KP & S in my own head. So please visit her DA page and wish her well. Be well.


End file.
